Each member breathed in unison anticipating the next antic. The apartment was silent except for the slight breeze rustling the curtains. Kaoru motioned with his index finger to tell Die to come closer. The red haired guitarist carefully avoided the sharp glass and crawled away from the door. He looked at Toshiya and Shinya who were now cowering near the storage room. Toshiya jabbed in the air at the door and made a twisting motion to Kaoru. Kaoru put a finger to his lips and nodded. Shinya scanned the perimeter and slowly rose to his feet. He twisted the knob with a subtle click. It was no longer locked.
“Ahh!” he screamed.
Shinya slipped and fell to the ground. He slammed the door close.
“What’s wrong Shinya!” Toshiya asked briskly.
“S-snakes,” whimpered the drummer.
Toshiya flung open the door. He saw boxes piled high with labels. The floor was covered with long black cables. The shovel was behind some wooden planks.
“What snake? Shinya there are no snakes,” said Toshiya.
“I hear them. They’re hissing,” insisted Shinya.
“What are you talking about? I see nothing,” said Toshiya forgetting to keep his voice down.
Toshiya yanked the shovel out and shut the door. As soon as he shut, he saw the girl in tatters standing right beside him. Toshiya let out a yelp and dropped the shovel. Kaoru and Die flinched in surprise at the spirit’s presence.
Shinya slid away from the shovel. His face was pale and his breathing was in a erratic pattern.
“Shinya, get the shovel!” screamed Kaoru.
“N-no. There’s a snake,” shivered Shinya.
He pointed at the immobile shovel. Toshiya made a lunge for the shovel only to have it slide away by itself. Die darted to the shovel. His fingers barely touched the handle when he felt himself pounded onto the wall. His body was now glued to the wall.
“Ugh! Why is it always me getting slammed!”
Die struggled to peel himself from the wall. It was as if someone had hung him like a painting. Kaoru tried ripping Die’s arm off the surface, but it was no good. A coffee table levitated off the ground and flew in Kaoru and Die’s direction.
“No, no, NO!” screamed Die frantically.
A fist went through the little girl’s body. Toshiya’s hand could feel the icy crawl when he touched the mist. The spirit gave a crooked smile before sending her victim flying to the ceiling. BANG! His body thumped hard and fell to the ground. Toshiya hit his head and the throbbing pain spread quickly.
Shinya clutched his chest tightly. His heart was beating intensely. The room had turned abnormally cold since they had entered. Shinya could see the mist of his own mad breathing. In front of him was a constrictor boa slithering in its glory. Further away was Toshiya unconscious on the ground. On the wall, a table trapped Die and Kaoru. Struggling, Kaoru tried to squeeze from under the table’s pressure. It hurled at him when he was shielding Die. The wooden table continued to crush the two under its unnatural force.
“Shinya, get salt! Spirits are afraid of salt!”
Kaoru’s voice broke Shinya from his frozen state. That’s right. My band mates are in trouble. He dashed into the kitchen and grabbed the salt dispenser. His fingers dove deeply into the canister for a dash of salt. He could feel the crystals wedge under his fingernails. The girl in white appeared in front of him again. Shinya threw the salt and the image of her dissipated like steam off a kettle. He heard a loud bang coming from the living room. The table plunked to the ground releasing Die and Kaoru from the wall. Kaoru rubbed his sore back. Toshiya woke up from his brief sleep and massaged the back of his head. The band members regrouped in the center of the room where the coffee table use to be.
“Make a salt circle!” ordered Kaoru.
“Huh?” said a puzzled Shinya.
“Gimme the salt.”
Kaoru huddled everyone together and vigorously poured the salt around them. Before stepping into the protective ring, he grabbed the shovel and handed the salt back to Shinya.
“I don’t think it’s a mere object we’re dealing with. Shinya, your house plant is dead like the garden outside. Only if something is raised would cause life around it to cease. Or in some instances, something extremely negative in energy,” explained Kaoru.
“Get to the point! I don’t want to stay here!” said Die.
“I think it’s buried outside. That’s probably why we couldn’t find it. We need to dig it up and burn whatever it is,” said Kaoru.
“How long does this salt circle hold?” asked Toshiya.
“As long as it doesn’t break and we stay inside, we are safe. Salt can repel spirits, but it can’t last forever,” said Kaoru.
“So what do we do now?” asked Shinya.
All eyes looked desperately to Kaoru for guidance.
“Okay. Everyone get a handful of salt for protection. I need someone to grab matches and some alcohol. Preferably strong. We need to dig this crap out together.”
“I got vodka in the fridge and matches are in the kitchen cabinets,” said Shinya. “But that snake.”
“What snake? I see no snake,” said Die.
“Neither do I,” said Toshiya.
“Whatever it is, it’s probably an illusion to throw you off,” assured Kaoru.
“I can’t do this! It’s right there looking at me by the kitchen!” cried Shinya. “None of you guys can see it?”
“Calm down Shinya!” shouted Kaoru.
A gust of wind from the broken window blew the salt ring away. The spirit appeared in front of them again. This time her tattered white dress was covered in streaks of wet blood. Her bleeding eyes were yellow with jaundice and her hair was messy like the disarray of emotions in the house.
“Go!” shouted Kaoru.
He didn’t even bother for the door. Kaoru darted to the window and climbed over the ledge. Thank goodness it was only the first floor. The sharp glass cut into his palm, but Kaoru ignored it in this moment. Toshiya made a dash to the kitchen. He ripped open the refrigerator door. There on the side was a skull shaped bottle of Crystal Head vodka. He grabbed the drink and slammed it the counter. Die opened all the cabinet doors. The small box of matches was nowhere in sight.
“Shinya, where are your matches!” Die cried in desperation.
“Die, watch out!” shouted Toshiya.
A glittering kitchen was in the hands of Shinya ready to hack at Die. Shinya drove the knife to Die’s face. It hit the kitchen sink with a resounding clang instead. Toshiya restrained Shinya by pulling him back.
“Shinya, stop it! What are you doing!”
Shinya head butted Toshiya in the nose. The red blood dripped on to the kitchen tiles. Shinya charged at Die and randomly swung the knife. Die could only dodge the intimidating blade. He grabbed the hanging spatula and fenced with it. In a matter of seconds, the handle was lopped off. Distraught, he searched for more items and sacrificed the soup ladle, wooden chopsticks, and a frying pan.
“Stop it Shinya! It’s me, Die!” cried out Die. “Is he possessed!”
Toshiya threw salt on to his friend. (‘That’s what you do with holy water!’ Die shouted.) Shinya was unfazed by it. The bassist grabbed Shinya by the shoulder. Shinya threw a fist into Toshiya’s face. Toshiya screamed in pain.
“Aah! Not my beautiful face!”
Shinya continued to attack Die. By chance, the blade nicked a bit of skin on Die’s cheek.
“Not my face too!”
The slashing continued. The metallic blade screamed as it scratched the frying pan.
“Found it!” Toshiya announced triumphantly with a box of matches in his hand.
He tucked the vodka under his arm and thrust the matches in his pocket. Shinya was hell bent on destroying Die. He heeded no attention to Toshiya.
“Go Toshiya! I’ll be fine!” said Die.
Toshiya rushed out the kitchen and looked behind. Die’s jacket was ripped from Shinya’s lucky strikes. He was an animal ready to ravage Die’s innards. Die was holding back afraid to injure the drummer. He was hoping Toshiya would make it out of the house in time.
Toshiya pulled the front door open. It surprisingly swung open easily. The spirit was waiting for him on the steps. Toshiya instantly threw the remaining salty grits he had at the evil spirit. She vaporized at the touch. He made his way down the staircase and she was waiting for him again. The girl flew past Toshiya. The icy chill traveled through his body and left an unpleasant shock. It was like having his heart plucked out of its crevice and dunked in cold water. Toshiya felt himself thrown against the side of the building forcefully. The skull shaped body rolled out of his hands and onto the stone pavement.
“Damn you!” the gruff voice of Kaoru called out.
He waved the shovel to dispel the spirit. The girl drifted away and disappeared.
“Kaoru! Shinya’s going crazy inside like he’s possessed!” Toshiya cried out. “Die’s holding him back, but I don’t think he can go on any longer.”
“C’mon! Let’s burn this thing before I lose a guitarist!”
The dirt was strewn against the lawn. The old plants had been torn out of their roots. Toshiya picked up the fallen skull shaped bottle and handed it to Kaoru. The guitarist made a face of disdain.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
*****
BGM: 残-ZAN- by Dir en grey
What do you made Kaoru say that last comment? Any ideas what's buried outside? What would you have done? Leave your thoughts on it. If you enjoyed reading this chapter, leave a comment below.
